Item H2* 2:00 p.m. Closed Session *
BOARD OF COUNTY COMNIISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date:_ January19. 2012 -IOW
Bulk Item: Yes No XX
Division: County Attorney
Staff Contact: Bob Shillin er 292-3470
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
An Attorney -Client Closed Session of the Board of County Commissioners in the matter of Sunset
Marina Residences of Key West Condominium Association Inc a City of Key West &Monroe County,
CA K 11-911.
ITEM BACKGROUND:
Per F.S. 286.011(8), the subject matter of the meeting shall be confined to settlement negotiations or
strategy sessions related to litigation expenditures.
The persons to be in attendance at this closed meeting will be the County Commissioners County
Administrator Roman Gastesi, County Attorney Suzanne A. Hutton; Chief Assistant Count Attorney
y
Bob Shillinger, Jr.; Assistant County Attorney Susan Grimsley; Assistant County y Attorne Derek V.
Howard, Es q. and a certified court reporter.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
12/14/11 BOCC scheduled Closed Session for 2:00 p.m. on 1/19/12 in Key West
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
NIA
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Approval.
TOTAL COST: Court Reporter costs INDIRECT COST. BUDGETED: Yes
Na
DIFFERENTIAL OF LOCAL PREFERENCE:
COST TO COUNTY: Court Re orter costs SOURCE OF S:
REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes Na xx AMOUNT PER MONTH Year
APPROVED BY: County Atty X OMB/PurchasingRisk Management
g t
DOCUMENTATION: Included Not Required X
DISPOSITION: AGENDA ITEM #
Revised 2105
County of Monroe
The Florida Keys
Robert B. Shillinger, County Attorney"
Pedro J. Mercado, Assistant County Attorney **
Cynthia L. Hall, Assistant County Attorney **
Christine Limbert-Barrows, Assistant County Attorney **
Derek V. Howard, Assistant County Attorney**
Steven T. Williams, Assistant County Attorney**
Peter H. Morris, Assistant County Attorney
Patricia Eables, Assistant County Attorney
Chris Ambrosio, Assistant County Attorney
** Board Certified in City, County & Local Govt. Law
May 25, 2017
Kevin Madok, Clerk of the Circuit Court
Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, State of Florida
Monroe County Courthouse
500 Whitehead Street
Key West, FL 33040
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Mayor George Neugent, District 2
Mayor Pro Tern David Rice, District 4
Danny L. Kolhage, District 1
Heather Carruthers, District 3
Sylvia J. Murphy, District 5
Office of the County Attorney
1111 121h Street, Suite 408
Key West, FL 33040
(305) 292-3470 — Phone
(305) 292-3516 — Fax
In Re: Sunset Marina Residences of Key West Condominium Association, Inc. v. City of
Key West and Monroe County, Case No.: CA-K-11-911
Dear Mr. Madok:
Please find enclosed herewith the transcript of the January 19, 2012 closed attorney/client
session of the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners regarding the above -
referenced matter. Under F.S. 286.011(8), the transcript may be part of the public record
because the litigation has concluded.
Thank you for your assistance with this matter. Please contact me should you have any
questions.
Sincerely,
Ro ert .Shillinger
Monroe County Attorney
Enclosure
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY
ATTORNEY -CLIENT SESSION
ORIGINA
THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012
2:10 p.m. - 2:40 p.m.
RE: SUNSET MARINA RESIDENCES OF KEY WEST CONDOMINIUM
ASSOCIATION INC. V. CITY OF KEY WEST AND MONROE COUNTY.
CASE NO. CA K 11-911
HELD AT
Harvey Government Center
1200 Truman Avenue
Key West, Florida 33040
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS:
David Rice, Mayor
Kim Wigington, Commissioner
George Neugent, Commissioner
Heather Carruthers, Commissioner
Sylvia Murphy, Commissioner
STAFF:
Suzanne Hutton, County Attorney
Bob Shillinger, Chief Assistant County Attorney
County Administrator Roman Gastesi, Assistant County
Attorneys Susan Grimsley.
This cause came on to be heard at the time and place
aforesaid, when and where the following proceedings were
reported by Lisa H. Bewley.
All Keys Reporting
Olde Town Centre 605 Whitehead Street
9701 Overseas Highway Suite 206, 2nd Floor
Marathon, Florida Key West, Florida
305-289-1201 305-294-2601
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MS. HUTTON: A closed attorney -client session
pursuant to Section 286.011(8), Florida Statutes,
will now be held. It is estimated that this meeting
will take approximately 30 minutes. The persons
attending the meeting will be the County
Commissioners, County Administrator Roman Gastesi,
County Attorney Suzanne Hutton, Chief Assistant
County Attorney Bob Shillinger, Assistant County
Attorney Susan Grimsley and a certified court
reporter.
Since the law prohibits any other person from
being present at the closed session, the
commissioners, the County Administrator, the
attorneys for the County and the court reporter will
now remain in this meeting room, and all other
persons are required to leave the room. When the
closed session is over, we will re -convene and
re -open the public meeting.
Will the Mayor please close the public meeting?
MAYOR RICE: This public meeting is now closed.
MS. HUTTON: Now if the Mayor will call this
closed session to order.
MAYOR RICE: Call the closed session to order
and County Commissioners to order.
MS. HUTTON: For the record, this meeting is
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being held upon the request of County Attorney
Suzanne Hutton, who announced at a BOCC meeting held
on December 14, 2011 that she needed advice in the
matter of Sunset Marina Residences of Key West
Condominium Association, Inc. versus City of Key West
and Monroe County, CA K 11-911. At that meeting, the
Board approved holding today's closed session and
public notice was given through public announcement
of the meeting at the December 14, 2011 BOCC meeting
and through publication of the January 19, 2012 BOCC
meeting agenda on the County's website.
For the record and the benefit of the court
reporter, each of us will state our name and
position starting with the commission.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Commissioner Heather
Carruthers, District 3.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Commissioner Kim
Wigington, District 1.
COMMISSIONER RICE: Commissioner Dave Rice,
District 4.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Commissioner George
Neugent, District 2.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Commissioner Sylvia
Murphy, District 5.
MS. HUTTON: Suzanne Hutton, County Attorney.
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MR. GASTESI:
Administrator.
MS. GRIMSLEY
Attorney.
Roman Gastesi, County
Susan Grimsley, Assistant County
41
MR. SHILLINGER: Bob Shillinger, Chief Assistant
County Attorney.
MS. HUTTON: Just as a reminder, we will only be
discussing settlement negotiations and strategy
relating to litigation expenditures. You cannot take
any decisive action at this meeting. We can only
provide information and you can provide direction to
the attorneys. Any decisions the Board makes
concerning this case must be done in a meeting open
to the public.
I'm going the start this with Mr. Shillinger.
MR. SHILLINGER: Good afternoon. Just briefly
this is the suit involving the homeless shelter KOTS
on the sheriff's -- grounds of the sheriff's jail out
on Stock Island. The City operates it through a
contract they have with us and they have a contract
to operate it. And that contract calls for them to
defend and indemnify the County in the event of any
suits arising from it. And so we're in a very good
position in this suit in terms of that.
The narrow issue that I'm here today on is the
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defense by the City Attorney's Office. When two
clients are represented by the same counsel, you
have to have a written waiver. The City Commission
has consented to the City Attorney representing both
the City and the County. And so we have an item on
this afternoon, and it's one of the agenda items
under the County Attorney, it's P7, which would
authorize the same thing.
Just so that we can be fully informed and as
in-house counsel, we want to make sure that your
litigating counsel is doing what they're supposed to
be doing, we've asked for the authority in the
resolution that we be granted permission to
represent both the County and the City. And the
reason is we'd be able to sit in on both Boards
closed and making sure that we're all working on the
same page. I think it's what the taxpayers would
envision, governments working together and working
cooperatively for a joint purpose.
The only potential downside that I would want
to point out is in the unlikely event that the City
decides they're not going to honor their agreement
to indemnify us, should we get tagged with any kind
of attorney's fees or damages and we have to
litigate over the indemnification agreement, in that
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unlikely event we'd end up having a suit on our own
and we'd both probably end up with outside counsel
because we'd both been attorneys on this matter
unless that conflict is waived. It's a very remote
possibility. It would have to be three steps down
the road and things would have to turn, and take an
unforeseen turn. But I still feel I need to point
it out to you.
Our recommendation is to adopt the resolution
to allow Shawn and Larry and Ron Ransingh at the
City to represent the County and the City and to
allow us to second chair and represent both the City
and the County. Any questions? I want to do this
in a closed session in the event you did have some
concerns about that.
The other -- the other thing, it's not
necessarily a legal conflict, but just to give you a
heads up that might affect your decision, the"
County's contribution to KOTS so far has been a
non -cash contribution for the most part. Though I
understand Public Works put in some sweat equity and
we just provide the land is the biggest chunk.
MS. HUTTON: But we're paying for their
utilities as well.
MR. SHILLINGER: Okay. That is our cash
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contribution. The City's plan, as I understand it in
the newspaper and from my conversations, is to see
about moving KOTS, or whatever they're going to call
it, to the Easter Seal property and they'd be coming
to us at some point and asking for some sort of
financial assistance with that to help either put
on -- help with the construction costs or help with
some of the operational costs.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Why?
MR. SHILLINGER: Why is it a County obligation?
What does the County get from having -- well, if we
want to be able to have a -- we benefit from the City
having a homeless shelter in operation by virtue of
we're able to keep peace and order at Higgs Beach.
Higgs Beach would become a 24-hour camping center as
well as other County properties if there was not an
operating homeless shelter in the community.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Well, that's not
necessarily true. Bayview Park too, I mean --
MR. SHILLINGER: Well, absolutely. But what I'm
saying is what is the benefit to the County is that
police can then arrest people for life -sustaining
activities when the parks are not in their normal
operating hours if there was an alternative place for
them to go.
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COMMISSIONER MURPHY: But there is one now and
there's still a problem. When you go downtown to
where Heather and Kim, the two building they're in,
there's homeless laying all over the ground.
MR. SHILLINGER: And they can be arrested for
trespassing and camping.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: But they're not.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: If I may, Number one,
in addition to utilities, District 1 taxpayers
provide ambulance service for people who are never
going to pay for that service, taken to the hospital
who are never going to pay for that either. I don't
want to call this a Key West problem, but technically
it is a Key West problem. I live on Stock Island.
The problem on Stock Island and in the Lower Keys
come from Key West pushing their homeless out there
and they're milling around out on Stock Island.
The reason they're not arrested in the City of
Key West is because you have to have a place to put
them. This shelter is open with a 140 beds, it
stays full. The 141st person cannot be arrested.
This shelter stays full all the time so it never
serves the purpose of having them be able -- to be
able to be arrested because they have a place to go
because they technically don't have a place to go
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because it's full.
MR. SHILLINGER: And that's an issue beyond the
scope. I'm just trying to tell you that they may be
coming to us for it and ask later on. That's a
subject to be negotiated later.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: You said we benefitted
from it. It costs us greatly.
MR. SHILLINGER: We do benefit. Having
prosecuted the County and City Violations on our
prior agreement, we do benefit when we can -- the
police can arrest when there is space available. And
there has been space available at times, and they
have made those arrests since it opened in 2004.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: I was going to ask if
the County is representing the City and the City is
representing the County if this could end up with us
on the short end of the stick similar to the FEMA
issue where we end up bearing the cost. We're
already allowing them to be pushed out into the
county. You may keep them out of the neighborhoods
in the city, but you're pushing them out into the
county. And if I was were somebody in District 1,
fire and ambulance, and I am, I think there's a
taxpayer's action. They've been providing service
for the City of Key West that exacerbates the problem
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because they know they don't provide any of their
services on that part of Stock Island, basically
declaring it a free zone.
There's a school, there are two condominium
associations, the golf course. There's nobody
track --
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Key West doesn't provide
ambulance service?
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: No.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: No, we do.
MR. SHILLINGER: On Stock Island?
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: On Stock Island.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Do you know what you
wrote off the last few years from the District 1
ambulance?
MR. SHILLINGER: And those are issues that we
can --
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: You'd have to identify --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: And we did.
MR. SHILLINGER: We have limited grounds we can
talk about in closed sessions, so that might be an
area for a policy discussion at a later date. And
that may be the arguments that we go back to them and
say we're already providing you this type of
contribution. Thanks, but no thanks.
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COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Bob, clarification. Who
made the decision, why is KOTS moving from what has
been and what seems to be for me an ideal place to
Easter Seals? What's the attraction to move?
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: The lawsuit.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: The lawsuit.
MR. SHILLINGER: The lawsuit. The deficiency in
KOTS where it exists now is the City did not and
probably will never be able to comply with the FEMA
requirements. It's in a V zone, it's in a velocity
zone. So unless we want to elevate whatever
structures are going to be out there --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Unless they want to
elevate.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: No, wait a minute.
Because they are going to put structures by the
Easter Seal. They're not using the Easter Seal
building.
MR. SHILLINGER: Right.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: They're wanting to put
mobile homes.
MR. SHILLINGER: But Easter Seal is not a V
zone.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: It's on the other side
of the road.
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COMMISSIONER MURPHY: They still have to put
them up a little bit.
MR. SHILLINGER: They're going to have to
elevate, but it's not as high. And there are some
existing structures there. The City has taken the
lead on this and it's their homeless shelter. We're
the landlord.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Who owns Easter Seal's
property?
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: The City.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: And they didn't renew
the lease for the handicap.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: What about the same type
of lawsuit that I hear grumblings about from the golf
course and other areas, other folks?
MR. SHILLINGER: We would not be the landlord.
We would not be involved in that suit.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Doesn't everybody with
that jail have an unidentified interest as being a
member of Monroe County in that jail? They paid for
it.
MAYOR RICE: This isn't the jail.
MR. SHILLINGER: This isn't the jail.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: They're moving it from
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the sheriff's property.
MR. SHILLINGER: They'll be moving it from the
county's property, putting it on City property, which
would then limit the County's --
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: It's a public piece of
property owned by everyone in Monroe County.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: What is, Easter Seal
property?
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: No.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: No, I'm talking about the
jail.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: That's why we're
getting sued as well as the --
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: The V zone -- the V zone
is the big issue?
MR. SHILLINGER: The V zone is the biggest
obstacle the City has to overcome to operate KOTS at
the sheriff's property.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Is it impossible to
overcome?
MR. SHILLINGER: Nothing is impossible in
engineering costs, but I don't think the sheriff --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: I don't think the
taxpayers are going to want to pay extra money to put
it there when they can go across the street and put
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it on a piece of property that the City already owns
and it won't cost them so much.
I mean, you know, frankly, the other problem
with KOTS and the reason that Commissioner Murphy
sees people downtown during the day is it's closed
during the day, so they have no place to go. You
know, it's not really a shelter, it's an
overnight --
MR. SHILLINGER: It's an overnight temporary
shelter.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: But I'm going to point out
something, the homeless, many of them, not all of
them, in Key West exist by panhandling and going
through trash cans. This I have seen, they do. They
panhandle dreadfully. But they can't do that on
Stock Island. There aren't the people out there.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Well, they're not
going to be able to do it anyplace that makes sense
in Key West either because there's now --
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Panhandling zones.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: There's panhandling
zones.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: So you have taken the
homeless, you have taken them out of Key West, put
them out on Stock Island and --
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COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: You've got to put them
somewhere.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS:
property on Stock Island.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON:
provide the services for them.
It's Key West City
Then they need to
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COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Well, then do you want
the access --
MR. SHILLINGER: Again, we're getting beyond the
issue of why we're here today. We're here today on
the narrow issue of do you want to agree to have the
City Attorney defend both of us and the County
Attorney to second chair and watch them?
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Not if it means the
taxpayers of Monroe County --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Key West people pay
taxes. I pay 3.52 mil even though I live in the city
to county taxes. So I would just like us for once
and for all --
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: For county services?
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: For county services.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: You don't pay District
1 --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: I may not pay
District 1 --
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COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Well, that's what --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: But that's a whole
different issue. And perhaps what we need to do is
expand District 1 to include that part of Stock
Island. That's a completely different issue.
MR. SHILLINGER: I --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: You also have a
college on Stock Island.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Why not in your
neighborhood?
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: You have Sunset
Marina --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Why not in your
neighborhood?
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: They come across from
my house
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Well, then --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: -- every single day.
MR. SHILLINGER: Again --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: So they're --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: They're there.
MR. SHILLINGER: Again, we're not here on that
issue.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Did you get all of that?
MR. SHILLINGER: In conjunction with what
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Commissioner Wigington is saying, I think I'd prefer
us being in the court representing ourselves.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: I do too. Because you did
say something that puzzled me, is that this problem
arose because Key West does not, cannot, doesn't want
to, it doesn't matter, put these things up to FEMA
specifications, but yet Sunset Marina residences are
the one who are suing. They're not suing on the
basis of FEMA?
MR. SHILLINGER: Yes, they are. They're suing
on the basis of a nuisance. And the basis of the
nuisance is the violation of the City building codes,
the development process and including the ability to
get all of the approvals, including building to FEMA
code. So it's implicit --
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: That is part of their
lawsuit, okay?
MR. SHILLINGER: That is implicit in the
analysis.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Okay.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: And I would, still for
me, if those problems can be corrected, I would
prefer -- is there any chance of an inverse
condemnation lawsuit from others by diminishing their
property values, i.e., the golf course and others?
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MR. SHILLINGER: Not inverse condemnation.
We're not -- they still would have a use of their
property, so it would not be by inverse condemnation.
It might be some other type of nuisance or -- I don't
even think it would be a fair harass claim because --
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Would it become a NIMBY
situation.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: That's exactly what it
is.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: It's a NIMBY
situation.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Key West doesn't want
the homeless on their -- in their neighborhoods,
they're going to put them out into the county.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: The homeless are in
Key West. That is a NIMBY. The --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: That is a NIMBY. I'm
sorry, but --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Kim --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: -- that's the NIMBY.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Kim, moving --
MR. SHILLINGER: All right, all right, please.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Stock Island --
MR. SHILLINGER: Please, please.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: -- is a city of Key
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West.
MR. SHILLINGER: We're not --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: But I want --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: And it is the City.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: But I want to tell
i�
MAYOR PRICE: Meowwwww.
MR. SHILLINGER: We're not --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: But I want to tell
you -- I want to know what's going on -- I want to
tell you what's going on now and what may be brought
up in the lawsuit. If you go by there now, those
properties that the homeless are supposed to be on,
they don't stay on those properties. They're all
around the golf course, around the fence. And let me'
tell you what they're doing, I will put this on the
record, they are defecating, they are urinating, they
are having sex, they're having sex with others,
they're having sex with themselves.
MAYOR PRICE: They're doing better than me.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: And this is all within
sight of people's homes. They are intoxicated and
they are having -- they are using drugs. It may be
funny, but it's not if your children -- if your
children are watching it from their windows. Knowing
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that it wouldn't be there if the City of Key West
wasn't pushing it out to somebody else's
neighborhood. Because Key West is attracting them by
having --
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Now here is where I'll
weigh in as far as Key West being part of the county.
This is a countywide issue.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Not as bad as Key West.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Yes, it's focused in Key
West. But this is a countywide issue.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Well, why don't we put
all of our homeless in the City of Key West then.
Let's put them all at Higgs Beach.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Well, actually if
they're at KOTS, they're in the City of Key West.
KOTS is in the City of Key West, Easter Seals is in
the City of Key West. They are in the City of Key
West.
If you have a problem with the County
District 1 paying for them, that's a separate issue.
It's a --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: They're across a
bridge. And it doesn't take anything but common
sense to realize that you're getting them off the
island out of the neighborhoods onto somebody else.
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MR. SHILLINGER: Let me remind you, the only
things we can talk about here are --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: What's going to be
brought up in the lawsuit.
MR. SHILLINGER: -- strategy sessions related to
litigation expenditures, settlement negotiations,
which we're not talking about at this point. And the
issue with respect to the expenditure of litigation
is counsel.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Which I bet we will be
sued again with this over the District 1. Because
people have been paying for years to provide this
service for the City of Key West.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Well, then that's a
different issue that we should take up --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: No. It's different
when the City of Key West is pushing a problem out
there because they don't pay for those services.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Kim, let me ask you
this question --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: They know the people in
District 1 pays for them.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: If somebody has a
heart attack in the FKCC parking lot, who picks them
up?
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COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: It would be different
if the City of Key West --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: You didn't answer my
question.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: -- said everybody
having a heart attack today goes out to Stock Island.
MR. SHILLINGER: Again, this is not --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: You didn't answer my
question.
MR. SHILLINGER: This is not the issue --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: There's thousands of
people brought to that --
MR. SHILLINGER: -- that we can talk about in
this closed session. This is a policy discussion for
later in an open session.
MAYOR RICE: It gives me pleasure to see you
have problems too keeping this group on track.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: I just want to say
that hearing these blanket statements, they all do
drugs, they all are drunk, I wish that you --
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: I'm telling you what I
witness.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: I wish that you would
go and talk to --
MR. SHILLINGER: Ladies, ladies --
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COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Have you ever gone and
spoken to those people?
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: No. I'm one of the
taxpayers watching it from their window.
MR. SHILLINGER: Please --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Well, you know what,
they were sometimes taxpayers too. And a lot of
those people are just people who are down on their
luck. And a lot of them are working homeless. A lot
of them are working.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Some of them have been
there for three years.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: That is absolutely
true. Because we don't do anything to help them get
out of there. We don't give them service.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Woah, don't go there
because you're going to have three cats in this
fight. Just don't go there.
MR. SHILLINGER: Right. Does anybody have
anything else to say on the issue of counsel?
MAYOR RICE: It better not be feral cats, that's
all I can say.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: You and your feral cats.
MAYOR RICE: I'm happy.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: I think we should --
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COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: You only shove them out
to somebody else, you're not taking care of them.
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: They are across the
street from my house every day.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: I think we should -- can
we do it separately?
MR. SHILLINGER: We can do it --
COMMISSIONER CARRUTHERS: Do you want to come
see me now?
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Heather. Okay.
MR. SHILLINGER: We can do it separately. That
would involve duplication of attorney efforts by the
County and the City --
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: I think --
MR. SHILLINGER: I mean our contract with them
calls for them to defend and indemnify us.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Yes. And let them live up
to their contract with us. However, I would feel
more com -- in this instance, this is a great example
because this exists all over these two islands. I
would be more comfortable if --
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: This is throughout the
county.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: -- if you were
representing -- KOTS is only down here, George -- if
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you were representing our interest and Shawn Smith
were representing their interest. I don't care if
there's a duplication of services.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: And hopefully in both of
our interests.
MR. SHILLINGER: Is that the pleasure of the
Commission?
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Yes.
MR. SHILLINGER: All right. Well, then when
Item P7 comes up later on the agenda, vote no.
COMMISSIONER NEUGENT: Leave out all the other
rhetoric.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Yeah, this is only
beginning, I'll tell now. Because it's going to
get --
MS. HUTTON: Are we ready to close the closed
session?
COMMISSIONER MURPHY:
orders, sir?
MR. SHILLINGER: I do.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY:
heads?
Do you have your marching
Did you see the Bobble
MR. SHILLINGER: I saw a lot. And they will be
affirmed when Item P7 comes up.
COMMISSIONER WIGINGTON: Did the court reporter
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get everything, or do we need to repeat things?
MAYOR RICE: If she did, she's very good.
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Especially David's -- the
episode of David's sex life. I loved that.
MS. HUTTON: Mr. Mayor, you may terminate the
closed session --
COMMISSIONER MURPHY: Or lack thereof.
MS. HUTTON: You may terminate the closed
session, Mr. Mayor.
MAYOR RICE: I'll be happy to terminate the
closed session.
(Proceedings concluded at 2:40 p.m.)
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STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF MONROE
REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE
27 1
I, LISA BEWLEY, Court Reporter, DO HEREBY CERTIFY
that I was authorized to, and did stenographically report
the above proceeding and that the transcript is a true and
complete record of my stenographic notes.
I FURTHER CERTIFY that I am not a relative, employee,
attorney, or counsel of the parties, nor am I a relative
or employee of any of the parties, attorney or counsel
connected with the action, nor am I financially interested
in the action.
DATED this 12th day of March 2012.
i
1
Lisa Bewley
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